Why are dried blood spots stored?
Good laboratory practice requires that samples be kept for a period of time after testing is done. During the 1980’s, the State of Michigan received legal advice recommending that dried blood spot samples be held in storage by the state laboratory until a child reached 21.5 years. In 1999, a Governor’s task force called the Michigan Commission on Genetic Privacy and Progress recommended retaining leftover samples indefinitely because of their value for future research. Read the press release or full report. State law allows MDCH to set the retention schedule, and in 2008, the policy was changed to save samples indefinitely.
